Colleges always look for great athletes and no community college can claim to properly help transfer students to four-year institutions without offering an outstanding athletic department.
With the help of Coach Greg Herrick and Assistant Coach Harlan Perlman, both finishing their fifteenth year as leaders of the Lady Cougar’s basketball team, College of the Canyons has done everything possible to accomplish that very thing. Sports have importance in themselves, for the sheer pleasure of the games as well as the discipline and self-confidence they provide. But great scores combined with great scholarships for four-year colleges give more than instant gratification. It provides a future.
The Lady Cougars headed to Fresno for the state championship games March 8-11, and though they came slightly short of Mt. SAC, just being one of the final four teams in the entire state should impress anyone. They return to a gym displaying banners for past team victories as state champions, and next year, they have the chance to try again, some of them at different schools. Leslie Ortiz, majoring in kinesiology, and Melissa Tachias and Facion Edwards, who have not yet declared their majors, will probably transfer to four-year institutions next year. Coach Herrick admits that it’s hard to work with a group of students so hard, you take them so far and then have to watch them leave and no doubt the girls feel the same way. But that’s what COC is, a stepping stone.
The remaining girls have their own goals. LaTreshe Jones studies child development while Amanda Sreden studies business and accounting. Cortney Dunlap works toward sociology, Nicole Moffett aspires to psychology, Kelly O’Linn to journalism, Roula Shamas to sports medicine and Ayana Wrighster studies business, with Andrea Bobic undeclared. These girls have a good idea about their future, and the hard work they do on the basketball court will help them on the way. The three sophomores about to transfer out could possibly get full scholarships for whatever college they attend and coming back from the state championships will put them high on the list for recruiters.
Of course, the coaches play the biggest role in helping the ladies succeed and these coaches have a lot to show for their work. Coach Herrick has a B.A. in history from Loyola Marymount and an M.A. in Educational Administration from CSU Northridge. Coach Perlman has a B.A. in history from UCLA and his M.A. in physical education from Azusa Pacific University. Both men even teach apart from coaching, so they know just how important education is. And leading their teams to be state champions in nine of their fifteen seasons at COC has given four-year colleges in Southern California a good reason to pay attention.